Concept of the Bible

Main Contents of the Bible * Old Testament * Pentateuch With the word “Bible” we associate the idea of one big book containing all the Holy Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments. But, in essence, this is not one book, but a whole collection of sacred books, strictly defined by the Church, written at different times, in different places and for different purposes and belonging either to God-inspired (canonical books) or only to God-enlightened men (non-canonical books). This composition and origin of the Bible is revealed from the history of the term itself - “Bible”. It is taken from the Greek language from the word βίβλος, which means “book”, and is used in the plural form τὰ βιβλία from the singular, diminutive - τὸ βιβλίον, meaning “small book”, “little book”. Therefore, τὰ βιβλία literally means a whole row or collection of such small books. In view of this, St. John Chrysostom interprets this word as one collective concept: “The Bible,” he says, “is many books that form one single one.” This collective designation of the Holy Scriptures by one collective name undoubtedly already existed in the Old Testament period. Thus, in its original Greek form, τα βιβλια is found in the first book of Maccabees (1 Maccabees 12.9, 90), and the corresponding Hebrew translation is given by the prophet Daniel (Dan 9.2), where the works of the Holy Scripture are designated by the term “Gassefarim” (הַּסְּפָרִים) * , which means “books”, more precisely - known specific books, since they are accompanied by a certain member - “ga” 1 (ה). During the period of New Testament history, at least at first, we do not yet find the word “Bible”, but we encounter a number of its synonyms, of which the most common are the following: “Scripture” (ἡ γραφή – Luke 4.21; John 20.9; Acts 13.32; Gal 3.22), “Scriptures” (αἰ γραφαί – Mt 21.41; Lk 24.32; John 5.39; 2 Pet 3.16), “Holy Scriptures” (γραφαὶ ἁγίαι – Rom 1.2), “Holy Scriptures” (τὰ ἱερά γράμματα – 2 Tim 3.15). But already among the apostolic men, along with the names of the Holy Scriptures just listed, the term τὰ βιβλία 2 begins to appear. However, it came into general use only from the time of the famous collector and interpreter of Holy Scripture - Origen (III century) and especially St. John Chrysostom (IV century). From the Greek authors, such a collective designation of the Holy Scriptures passed on to the Latin writers, and the plural form of the neuter τὰ βιβλία here finally received the meaning of the feminine singular biblia. This last name, in its Latin form, came to us in Russia, probably due to the fact that our first collectors of the Slavic Bible were, among other things, under the influence of the Latin Vulgate. The main feature that distinguishes the Holy Scriptures of the “Bible” from other literary works, giving them supreme power and unquestionable authority, is their inspiration. By it is meant that supernatural, divine illumination, which, without destroying or suppressing the natural powers of man, raised them to the highest perfection, protected them from mistakes, imparted revelations, in a word, guided the entire course of their work, thanks to which the latter was not a simple product of man, but, as it were, the work of God himself. According to the testimony of the Holy Apostle Peter, “prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1.21). The Apostle Paul even encounters the very word “inspired” and precisely in the appendix to the Holy Scriptures, when he says that “all Scripture is inspired by God” (θεόπνευστος – 2 Timothy 3.16). All this is beautifully revealed by the Fathers of the Church. Thus, Saint John Chrysostom says that “all Scriptures were written not by slaves, but by the Lord of all - God”; and in the words of Saint Gregory the Great, “the Lord speaks to us in the language of the holy prophets and apostles.” But this “divine inspiration” of the Holy Scriptures and their authors did not extend to the destruction of their personal, natural characteristics: that is why in the content of the sacred books, especially in their presentation, style, language, character of images and expressions, we observe significant differences between individual books of the Holy Scriptures, depending on the individual, psychological and peculiar literary characteristics of their authors. Another very important feature of the holy books of the Bible, which determines the varying degrees of their authority, is the canonical nature of some books and the non-canonical nature of others. To clarify the origin of this difference, it is necessary to touch upon the very history of the formation of the Bible. We have already had occasion to notice that the Bible includes sacred books written in different eras and by different authors. To this we must now add that along with genuine, divinely inspired books, in different eras also appeared non-authentic or non-divinely inspired books, to which, however, their authors tried to give the appearance of authentic and divinely inspired ones. Especially many such works appeared in the first centuries of Christianity, on the basis of Ebionism and Gnosticism, such as the “First Gospel of James”, “Gospel of Thomas”, “Apocalypse of the Apostle Peter”, “Apocalypse of Paul”, etc. Therefore, there was a need for an authoritative voice that would clearly determine which of these books are truly true and inspired, which are only edifying and useful (without being at the same time inspired by God), and which are downright harmful and counterfeit. Such guidance was given to all believers by the Church of Christ itself - this pillar and affirmation of the truth - in its teaching about the so-called canon. The Greek word “κανών”, like the Semitic “kane” (קנה), originally means “reed stick”, or in general any “straight stick”, and hence in a figurative sense - everything that serves to straighten, correct other things, for example, “carpenter’s plumb line”, or the so-called “rule”. In a more abstract sense, the word κανων received the meaning of “rule, norm, model,” with which meaning it is found, by the way, in the Apostle Paul: “to those who walk according to this rule (κανόνι), peace and mercy be upon them, and on the Israel of God” (Gal. 6.16). Based on this, the term κανων and the adjective κανονικός derived from it quite early began to be applied to those sacred books in which, according to the tradition of the Church, they saw the expression of the true rule of faith, its example. Already Irenaeus of Lyon says that we have “the canon of truth - the words of God.” And Saint Athanasius of Alexandria defines “canonical” books as those “which serve as a source of salvation, in which the teaching of piety is indicated.” The final distinction between “canonical” books and “non-canonical” books dates back to the times of St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Jerome and Augustine. Since that time, the epithet “canonical” has been applied to those sacred books of the Bible that are recognized by the entire Church as inspired, containing rules and models of faith - in contrast to books “non-canonical”, i.e., although edifying and useful (for which they are placed in the Bible), but not inspired, and “apocryphal” (αποκρυφος - hidden, secret), completely rejected by the Church and therefore not included in the Bible. Thus, we must look at the sign of the “canonicity” of famous books as the voice of the Church’s Holy Tradition, confirming the inspired origin of the books of Holy Scripture. Consequently, in the Bible itself, not all of its books have the same meaning and authority: some (canonical books) are inspired, that is, they contain the true word of God, others (non-canonical) are only edifying and useful, but are not alien to the personal, not always infallible opinions of their authors. This difference must always be kept in mind when reading the Bible, for a correct assessment and appropriate attitude towards the books included in its composition 3. In conclusion of the necessary introductory information about the Bible, it remains for us to say a few words about the language in which the sacred books of the Bible were written, about their more famous translations, and about their modern division into chapters and verses. All the canonical books of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, with the exception of only a few small sections written in the Chaldean language (Jer 10.11; Dan 2.4–7.28; 1 ​​Ezra 4.8–6.18, 7.12–26). The non-canonical books, apparently, were written in Greek, although, based on the testimony of Blessed Jerome, some think that the book. Tobit and Judith were originally written in Chaldean. All the books of the New Testament were written in Greek, in the so-called Alexandrian dialect (which came into use from the era of Alexander the Great - κοινὴ διάλεκτος) **, with the exception of one first Gospel - according to Matthew, written in the Syro-Chaldean dialect of the Hebrew language spoken contemporary to Jesus Christ of the Jews. Since in the Hebrew letter only one consonant sounds were used, and the necessary vowel sounds were transmitted orally according to tradition, the original Old Testament text did not have vowels. They, in the form of various subscripts, were introduced quite late (approximately around the 9th-10th centuries AD) by learned Jewish rabbis-masorites (i.e., keepers of “tradition” - from the Hebrew verb “mazor”, to transmit). As a result, the modern Hebrew text is called Masoretic. Of the various translations of the Bible, two of the most authoritative and ancient ones deserve mention - the Greek LXX and the Latin Vulgate, and the two later ones - Slavic and Russian, as those closest to us. The Greek translation was made for the needs of the Alexandrian Jews in the Ptolemaic era, that is, not earlier than the half of the 3rd century. before the Nativity of Christ, and no later than half of the 2nd century. It was completed at different times and by different translators, with its main part, the Pentateuch, being the most ancient and authoritative. The Latin translation or the so-called Vulgate (from vulgus - people) was made by Blessed Jerome at the end of the 4th century directly from the Hebrew text under the guidance and other best translations. It is distinguished by thoroughness and completeness. The Slavic translation of the Bible was first undertaken by the holy first teachers of the Slavs - the brothers Cyril and Methodius - in the second half of the 9th century. From here, through Bulgaria, it came to us in Rus', where for a long time only separate, scattered books of the Bible were in circulation. For the first time, a complete handwritten copy of the Bible was collected by the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady, regarding his fight against the Judaizers (1499). The first printed Slavic Bible was published here in 1581 by Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky. Our Slavic Bible is based on Greek. translation LXX. The Russian Synodal translation of the Bible was made relatively recently, in the middle of the last, 19th century, through the works of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and professors of our theological academies. It was based on the Hebrew, Masoretic text, which, in necessary cases, was compared with Greek and Latin translations. It was completed in 1876, when the first complete Russian Bible appeared. Finally, it should be noted that in the ancient Church our division of the Bible books into chapters and verses did not exist: they were all written in a continuous, coherent text, arranged in the form of columns (like verses) and if they were divided, then only into sections for liturgical use (λόγοι, ἐκλογάδια, εὐαγγελιστάριον, προξαπόστολον). The modern division into chapters dates back to Cardinal Stephen Langton, who divided the Vulgate around 1205. This division was completed and approved by the learned Dominican Hugh de Saint-Chir, who published his concordance c. 1240 And in the half of the 16th century. The learned Parisian typographer Robert Stephan introduced the modern division of chapters into verses, first in the Greco-Latin edition of the New Testament (1551), and then in the complete edition of the Latin Bible (1555), from where it gradually passed into all other texts. In the text we see "bassefarim" (בַּסְּפָרִים). – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” It is interesting to note here that both of these terms are Hebrew. "sefer" and Greek. βίβλος - according to their philological analysis, they give us an idea of ​​the material that was used for writing in ancient times and on which, consequently, the originals and the most ancient copies of sacred books were written. Thus, Jewish books were obviously written primarily on parchment, that is, peeled and smoothed leather, for the word “sefer” comes from Hebrew. the verb “safar”, meaning “to shave”, “to cleanse” the skin of “hair”. Greek authors probably preferably wrote on “papyrus,” that is, on specially processed leaves of a special Egyptian plant; the word βίβλος or βύβλος originally means “papyrus,” and hence papyrus scroll or “book.” See, for example, in the Greek text of the letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (I, 43 The distinction between biblical books into “canonical” and “non-canonical” applies only to the Old Testament books, since the New Testament books that are part of the Bible are all considered canonical. The composition of the “Old Testament canon,” although generally established fairly consistently, varies in the sheer number of books; this happens because the Jews, wanting to adjust the number of their books to the 22 letters of their alphabet, made artificial connections of several books into one, for example, they combined the books of Judges and Ruth, the first and second, the third and fourth books. Kings and even collected all 12 minor prophets into one book. The Orthodox Church has 38 canonical books, namely: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, 5) Deuteronomy, 6) Book of Joshua, 7) Judges, 8) Ruth, 9) 1st book. Kings, 10) 2nd book. Kings, 11) 3rd book. Kings, 12) 4th book. Samuel, 13) 1st book. Chronicles, 14) 2nd book. Chronicles, 15) book of Ezra, 16) book of Nehemiah (2nd Esdras), 17) Esther, 18) Job, 19) Psalms, 20) Proverbs of Solomon, 21) Ecclesiastes, 22) Song of Songs, 23) book. the prophet Isaiah, 24) Jeremiah with Lamentations, 25) Ezekiel, 26) Daniel and the twelve minor prophets, 27) Hosea, 28) Joel, 29) Amos, 30) Obadiah, 31) Jonah, 32) Micah, 33) Nahum, 34) Habakkuk, 35) Zephaniah, 36) Haggai, 37) Zechariah, 38) Malachi. The remaining 9 books placed in the Slavic and Russian Bible are considered non-canonical, namely: 1) Tobit, 2) Judith, 3) Wisdom of Solomon, 4) Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, 5–6) 2nd and 3rd books. Ezra and 7-9) three books of Maccabees. In addition, the following sections in the above canonical books are also recognized as non-canonical: the prayer of King Manasseh, at the end of the 2nd book. Chronicles, parts of the book. Esther, not marked verses, the last Psalm (after 150), the song of the three youths in the book. the prophet Daniel, the story of Susanna in the 13th and Bel and the dragon in the 14th chapter of the same book. Of the New Testament books, all 27 books. and are recognized as canonical in their entirety. Modern point of view - see A. Vdovichenko. "Traditional literary language of the Gospels: a new model of description" You might be interested in: